The 1.02 curse and beano

[bonzombiekitty]

I seem to keep getting stuck with the 1.02 curse for my extract brews. I'm trying more and more stuff to get over this hurdle, currently I'm letting my beer ferment in a water bath with an aquarium heater (temp around 68-69 degrees ambient). I still seem to not be able to get below 1.02 in my last couple brews (one I sorta expected it because it was a high OG to begin with). I've tried pitching more yeast, doing starters, etc.

I'm down to two other possible ways to get the SG to drop down below 1.02 - buy an airstone to get more O2 into the wort, or as it seems to be suggested here, try using beano to help break down the unfermentable sugars in the extract. But I'm not sure exactly how to use it. When do I add it?

 

[Homercidal]

For starters, 1.020 might be the lower limit. You should tell us your recipe and your process. Extract beers will often finish higher than AG beers. Plus, the yeast strain will factor in, as will the temp you mash at (if AG), and temp and duration of your fermentation.

I am of the camp that thinks an airstone is completely unnecessary. Shaking the wort will provide plenty of O2 for the yeast.

At this point I would suggest raising the temp of your beer to above 70. Maybe 75 or so. The vast majority of the fermentation is complete and the odds of getting any noticeable off-flavor is slim to none now. Let it sit for a week or so and take another reading.

 

[mojotele]

The problem could be the extract you are using. Some extract is less fermentable than others. Are you using the same brand extract every time and, if so, who is the manufacturer of your extract?

Also, have you been using exclusively DME, LME, or a combination of both?

I'm not experienced with using beano, sorry.

 

[osagedr]

I would avoid the amylaze enzyme (beano). I considered it when I had a couple of lagers stuck around 1.020, but decided against it after reading as much as I could find on the subject.

As someone else said, a lot more details about your process are needed for us to provide good advice. What strains of yeast, size of starters, type of ME used, etc etc etc? Thousands upon thousands of extract batches are made with no issues of "getting stuck", so find out what is different about your process before going with the "nuclear option" of amylaze.

 

[wyzazz]

I would only use the amalyze enzyme's you get from the brewing stores, they are the only ones that you know are sterile for sure, you can't say as much for Beano. Drop around 15oz per 5gal batch in to your fermenter if you want to try and (unstick) your fermentation.

Out of curiosity does your beer not taste good? Why do you "need" it to go below 1.020?

On another note, I have always used Briess DME and never had an issue with my brews getting stuck at 1.020 or higher.

 

[KCBrewer]

Is your hydrometer correct? I was getting slightly high OG readings and someone here recommended I check mine, and it was off by .002. It was only a few weeks old and had only been used 3 times, so I didn't expect that to be the problem. I'm still a rookie, but thought I'd throw it out there since it was my issue. It's easy enough to check, and you may find you don't have a fermenting issue at all.

 

[JiveTurkey]

What type of yeast: dry or liquid? If liquid, are you making a starter?

 

[smokinghole]

It sounds like the extracts are part of the problem. My first couple batches of extract beer I used mostly munton and fisson DME and had no problem getting down under 1020 I had a Belgian-style wit down to 1008 using 5lbs extra light DME and honey(higher OG than it should have been but damn tasty). Until the last two batches I had simple starters or no starter and have not had issues.

Like others said though you need to supply us with recipe details. I had a RIS made with extract stick at 1038 and could not get it going again until I had a stir plate and a 1500ml starter. The overall warmer weather I'm sure also helped out a bit too. Either way post up recipes and OGs along with extracts used so the people that are way more knowledgeable than me can help you.

 

[archiefl98]

Amylase enzyme and bean-o are not the same thing. As wyazz said, use the amylase enzyme from the LHBS if you use anything. Take 1 tsp of enzyme powder and sprinkle over the top of your fermenting beer as if it were magical beer-pixie dust. Swirl the yeast a little, raise the temp above 70F and if it's doing anything you'll see a thin layer of bubbly scum on top of the beer. Check it in a few weeks.

I used it in a RIS that was stuck at 1.044 or so. Dropped it down to 1.022 as of two weeks later.

 

[FreeM80s]

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